Painted Skin · chapter 1 of 4
The Girl by the Road
路边的姑娘
A kind scholar brings home a crying girl who has nowhere to go, and a stranger in the market warns him about her.
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- Narrator 很久以前，有一个年轻的书生，叫王生。一天早上，天刚亮，他走在回家的路上。
Hěn jiǔ yǐqián, yǒu yí gè niánqīng de shūshēng, jiào Wáng Shēng. Yì tiān zǎoshang, tiān gāng liàng, tā zǒu zài huí jiā de lùshang.
Long ago there was a young scholar named Wang Sheng. One morning, just as the sky was getting light, he was walking home.
- Wang Sheng 咦？路边有人在哭。
Yí? Lùbiān yǒu rén zài kū.
Huh? Someone is crying by the road.
- Wang Sheng 小姑娘，你怎么了？天这么早，你一个人在这儿做什么？
Xiǎo gūniang, nǐ zěnme le? Tiān zhème zǎo, nǐ yí gè rén zài zhèr zuò shénme?
Little miss, what's wrong? It's so early. What are you doing here all alone?
- The Girl 先生，我……我没有家了。
Xiānsheng, wǒ… wǒ méiyǒu jiā le.
Sir, I… I don't have a home anymore.
- The Girl 他们要把我卖给一个有钱的老头。我一晚上没有睡，一直往前跑，跑到这里了。
Tāmen yào bǎ wǒ mài gěi yí gè yǒuqián de lǎotóu. Wǒ yì wǎnshang méiyǒu shuì, yìzhí wǎng qián pǎo, pǎo dào zhèlǐ le.
They want to sell me to a rich old man. I didn't sleep all night. I just kept running until I got here.
- Wang Sheng 卖你？他们怎么能这样！
Mài nǐ? Tāmen zěnme néng zhèyàng!
Sell you? How can they do that!
- Wang Sheng 别怕。我家不大，可是有一个小房间。你先住几天，好不好？
Bié pà. Wǒ jiā bú dà, kěshì yǒu yí gè xiǎo fángjiān. Nǐ xiān zhù jǐ tiān, hǎo bu hǎo?
Don't be afraid. My house isn't big, but there's a little room. Why don't you stay a few days?
- The Girl 真的吗？您……您真是好人。
Zhēn de ma? Nín… nín zhēn shì hǎo rén.
Really? You… you are truly a good man.
- Wang Sheng 我读过很多书。书里说，见到没有家的人，一定要帮他。
Wǒ dúguo hěn duō shū. Shū lǐ shuō, jiàndào méiyǒu jiā de rén, yídìng yào bāng tā.
I've read a lot of books. The books say that when you meet someone with no home, you must help.
- The Girl 那我今天见到您，真是太好了。
Nà wǒ jīntiān jiàndào nín, zhēn shì tài hǎo le.
Then I'm so lucky to have met you today.
- Chen 你回来啦？早饭做好了。咦？这位是谁？
Nǐ huílái la? Zǎofàn zuò hǎo le. Yí? Zhè wèi shì shéi?
You're back! Breakfast is ready. Huh? Who is this?
- Wang Sheng 娘子，这位姑娘没有地方去。我想让她住在我们家后面的小房间。
Niángzǐ, zhè wèi gūniang méiyǒu dìfang qù. Wǒ xiǎng ràng tā zhù zài wǒmen jiā hòumiàn de xiǎo fángjiān.
Dear wife, this girl has nowhere to go. I'd like her to stay in the little room at the back.
- Chen 上个月，你带回来一只猫。上上个月，是一只狗。这个月，是一个人？
Shàng gè yuè, nǐ dài huílái yì zhī māo. Shàngshàng gè yuè, shì yì zhī gǒu. Zhège yuè, shì yí gè rén?
Last month you brought home a cat. The month before, a dog. This month, a person?
- Wang Sheng 这次不一样。她是人啊。
Zhè cì bù yíyàng. Tā shì rén a.
This time it's different. She's a person!
- Chen 我看得出来她是人。姑娘，你叫什么名字？家在哪儿？
Wǒ kàn de chūlái tā shì rén. Gūniang, nǐ jiào shénme míngzi? Jiā zài nǎr?
I can see she's a person. Miss, what's your name? Where is your home?
- The Girl 夫人，我不想说。说了，他们就会来找我。
Fūrén, wǒ bù xiǎng shuō. Shuō le, tāmen jiù huì lái zhǎo wǒ.
Madam, I'd rather not say. If I tell you, they'll come and find me.
- Chen 好吧。先吃饭。人饿了，什么事都想不清楚。
Hǎo ba. Xiān chīfàn. Rén è le, shénme shì dōu xiǎng bù qīngchu.
All right. Eat first. When you're hungry, you can't think straight.
- The Girl 谢谢夫人。可是我不饿。
Xièxie fūrén. Kěshì wǒ bú è.
Thank you, madam. But I'm not hungry.
- Chen 跑了一晚上，怎么会不饿？还有，我刚才拉着她的手，冷得像冰。
Pǎo le yì wǎnshang, zěnme huì bú è? Hái yǒu, wǒ gāngcái lā zhe tā de shǒu, lěng de xiàng bīng.
She ran all night and she isn't hungry? And when I held her hand just now, it was cold as ice.
- Wang Sheng 路上风大嘛。快去吃饭吧！
Lùshang fēng dà ma. Kuài qù chīfàn ba!
It's windy out on the road! Come on, let's eat!
- Narrator 第二天，王生去市场买纸。一个老道士站在路中间，看着他。
Dì-èr tiān, Wáng Shēng qù shìchǎng mǎi zhǐ. Yí gè lǎo dàoshi zhàn zài lù zhōngjiān, kànzhe tā.
The next day, Wang Sheng went to the market to buy paper. An old Taoist stood in the middle of the road, staring at him.
- The Taoist 站住！
Zhànzhù!
Stop!
- Wang Sheng 您……您在叫我吗？
Nín… nín zài jiào wǒ ma?
Are… are you calling me?
- The Taoist 年轻人，你脸上有邪气，又黑又重。你家里，是不是来了一个人？
Niánqīng rén, nǐ liǎn shang yǒu xiéqì, yòu hēi yòu zhòng. Nǐ jiā lǐ, shì bu shì lái le yí gè rén?
Young man, there is evil air on your face, black and heavy. Has someone come to your house?
- Wang Sheng 是一个小姑娘。她没有家，人很好。她怎么会有邪气？
Shì yí gè xiǎo gūniang. Tā méiyǒu jiā, rén hěn hǎo. Tā zěnme huì yǒu xiéqì?
A little girl, yes. She has no home, and she's very nice. How could she have evil air?
- The Taoist 好看的东西，不一定是好东西。
Hǎokàn de dōngxi, bù yídìng shì hǎo dōngxi.
Something that looks lovely isn't always something good.
- Wang Sheng 您是说……她是坏人？
Nín shì shuō… tā shì huài rén?
Are you saying… she's a bad person?
- The Taoist 我说的是，她不是人。
Wǒ shuō de shì, tā bú shì rén.
What I'm saying is, she is not a person.
What changed in the story?
- Why is the girl crying by the road?
“他们要把我卖给一个有钱的老头。我一晚上没有睡……”
- What do Wang's books say about people with no home?
“书里说，见到没有家的人，一定要帮他。”
- What is Chen's joke about Wang's habit?
“上个月，你带回来一只猫。上上个月，是一只狗。这个月，是一个人？”
- What strange thing does Chen notice about the girl?
“可是我不饿……冷得像冰。”
- What does the Taoist say about the girl at the end?
“我说的是，她不是人。”